In many telemarketing applications, one calls a customer number, such as a Toll Free Services Number, and is transferred to an agent typically located at a customer operated telemarketing center or satellite office. In most of these systems, the customer has a computer database located at a main corporate office and at least one Automatic Call Distributor (ACD), located with the agent at a telemarketing center or satellite office. The customer premises equipment typically includes a large mainframe computer that receives calls and then distributes the calls to agents located at the customer operated satellite office. These large mainframe computers also can service the calls for various call forwarding options and can include systems working in conjunction with the intelligent call processing network.
The Automatic Call Distributors route calls to selected agents at a customer office or a customer operated telemarketing center or satellite office based on criteria such as caller's geographic location, age or purchasing requirements. Examples of similar telemarketing systems or of systems used in conjunction with similar telemarketing systems are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,737,983 to Frauenthal et al.; 4,788,718 to McNabb et al.; 4,953,204 to Cuschleg et al.; 5,291,550 to Levy et al.; 5,369,695 to Chakravarti et al.; 5,444,774 to Friedes; 5,481,602 to Griffiths; and 5,488,632 to Mason et al., the disclosures which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Many customers are now requiring their telemarketing groups to downsize staffs and reduce the hardware cost associated with operating these groups at corporate and satellite offices. As a result, more customers desire telemarketing and similar agents to be located at home premises, instead of customer operated telemarketing centers or satellite offices. It would be advantageous if many of the advantages and benefits of those systems using complex customer operated mainframes and Automatic Call Distributors as described above were available using home agents without the hardware and system requirements described above. This type of system would be advantageous because large computers acting as Automatic Call Distributors and similar systems and devices would not be necessary.